Ashwin strikes back for India after Jennings builds for England

Mumbai - Jennings put on a partnership of 99 with captain Alastair Cook

India fought back through their star bowler Ravichandran Ashwin late on Day 1 of the fourth Test after debutant Keaton Jennings had given England a solid platform with a century on debut at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
The South Africa-born Jennings was called up to the squad last week and justified his selection by scoring 112 to propel the visitors to 288 for 5 at close.
The 24-year-old left-hander - who switched allegiance to England to boost his international career prospects - was almost caught on zero and took until the 12th ball to get off the mark, but when he did there was no stopping the tall opener.
He grew increasingly confident in the middle as the day progressed with an array of exemplary shot-making, including a trio of audacious reverse sweeps that went for fours.
It was one of those sweeps that brought up his ton mid-way through the afternoon session, with Jennings punching the air in delight as he celebrated a debut to remember.
Jennings, who was only called up to the squad after Haseeb Hameed was injured in the third Test, put on a partnership of 99 with fellow opener and captain Alastair Cook.
Cook was stumped on 46 by wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel after swinging at a Ravindra Jadeja delivery but Jennings held his nerve and plotted his way to 65 by lunch.
He outlasted Joe Root who could only make 21 before he was caught at slip by Indian captain Virat Kohli off a spinning Ravichandran Ashwin delivery.
Moeen Ali steadied the ship, helping guide Jennings to his ton and scoring a half century of his own before foolishly getting caught out.
He hopelessly scooped up an Ashwin delivery that landed comfortably in the hands of Karun Nair to put England at 230-3.
Jennings, who hit 13 fours during his 219-ball knock, walked soon afterwards when Cheteshwar Pujara caught a little flick off the bat for Ashwin's third wicket of the day.
Jennings, who was born in Johannesburg and captained the Proteas under-19s, became the latest South African-born English cricketer to score a ton on their international Test debut.
Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior both made centuries in their first outings while Jonathan Trott reached three figures in the second innings of his Test debut.
Jennings, whose mother is English, moved to England in 2011 after leaving school, committing himself to four years there so he could become eligible to play for the national side.
He opted for England to further his career in a similar move to Kevin Pietersen in the early 2000s.
Players who were born abroad are eligible to play for England after spending four years in English county cricket, a policy that has attracted some controversy.
England trail 2-0 in the five-match series and anything less than a victory would see India seal the contest. In-form off-spinner Ashwin grabbed his fourth wicket when Jonny Bairstow was caught on 14. - AFP as India restricted the tourists somewhat after their strong start.
Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler were at the crease on 25 and 18 respectively. - IANS
cracked a superb century but India fought back to restrict England to 288 for 5 to end the first day's action of the fourth cricket Test on even keel here on Thursday.
Jennings, the eighth English batsman to hit a century on debut (112) and 69th overall, propelled the visitors to a strong position at 196 for 2 at tea. South Africa-born Jennings was called up to the squad last week. He was dropped when he was yet to open his account and then capitalised on the "life" given to him.
But India's premier spinner Ravinchandran Ashwin (4 for 69) orchestrated a turnaround in the final session of the day to peg back England.
Jos Butler (18 not out) and Ben Stokes (unbeaten 25) were at the crease at stumps.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (1 for 60) took the only other wicket to fall at the Wankhede Stadium.
Jennings' fine effort was complemented by Moeen Ali (50). England skipper Alastair Cook contributed 46.
England were looking to end the day stronger after Jennings had put them in a position of strength.
But Ashwin's guile checked England's march, taking two wickets in the 71st over, to dismiss Ali and Jennings. Ali was caught trying to slog-sweep Ashwin for six.
Ashwin exploited the slow turn that the pitch offered and took advantage of the English batsmen's tentativeness while negotiating probing spin bowling.
The twin blows jolted England who were by then looking for a first day score of over 300.
Ashwin made further inroads sending back Jonny Bairstow, caught in the deep, at 14.
That stymied England's run accumulation to an extent but Stokes and Butler prevented further damage with an unconquered 39-run sixth-wicket partnesrhip.
The morning, however, didn't show any such concerns for the visitors who, after electing to bat first, reached 117 for 1 at lunch. Number 3 batsman Joe Root (21) departed in the post-lunch phase, caught by India skipper Virat Kohli off Ashwin's bowling.
Cook's decision of taking first strike seemed vindicated when he and Jennings put together a strong partnership.
England put on 99 for the opening wicket after winning the toss with skipper Alastair Cook the only batsman dismissed at 46 before lunch when he was stumped by Parthiv Patel off the bowling of left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
The visitors scored at a brisk rate of nearly four runs an over till Cook was foxed by Jadeja to come out of his crease and sharply stumped by Patel in the 26th over. They were cautious yet firm to put away bad deliveries without hesitation.
Jennings continued to impress even after the departure of Cook, hitting 13 crisp boundaries.
The left hander showed no signs of nerves while playing his first Test innings on a true pitch that offered consistent pace, bounce and not enough spin, making it easier for the batsmen to hit through the line.
Cook became the sixth batsman to score 2,000 or more Test runs against India during his innings, when he reached 19.
Cook is the first England batsman to achieve the feat against India, and joined the elite list of Ricky Ponting, Clive Lloyd, Javed Miandad, Shivanarine Chanderpaul and Michael Clarke.
In an on-field incident, Umpire Paul Reiffel was hospitalised for a scan after being hit on the back of his head by a throw from the deep from India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the afternoon session.
The Australian was rushed to hospital for a precautionary scan and rested for the remainder of the day with third umpire Marais Erasmus taking his on-field position. - IANS